📰🏟️ Royal rumble
Plus: PGA Tour reinvents playoffs…
Good afternoon. Today’s edition brings you the top news from around the sports world. Let’s get you up to speed.
—Kyle
1) WNBA’s most-watched game since ‘97 included Freedom ejection
Sunday night’s matchup between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky averaged 3.31M viewers on NBC and Peacock, making it the most-watched regular-season game since the WNBA’s opening weekend in 1997.
- It’s more than double last year's WNBA Finals, which averaged 1.5M viewers over 4 games on ESPN networks.
- Sunday’s contest also featured some courtside drama, with former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom—who’s been trolling the league by trying to enter the draft—ejected after a confrontation with Sky G Natasha Cloud.
- Fever–Sky games have consistently driven the highest WNBA viewership since 2024, when Clark and former Sky F Angel Reese entered the league (Reese was traded in April.)
2) PGA Tour reinvents playoff system
The PGA Tour unveiled a radically different postseason format starting in 2028, replacing its current 3-event FedExCup Playoffs with a 3-week finish built around match play.
- The top 90 players will compete in a 72-hole tournament, with the top 32 advancing to a match-play event which, in turn, leads to a final 16-player knockout bracket to crown a champion.
- The overhaul, developed by a Tiger Woods-led committee, is aimed at giving golf a simpler and more compelling season finale.
- In other major news: LIV Golf this morning reportedly laid off the “majority” of US and UK workers, a move the league called part of its transition into a scaled-back “LIV 2.0” without Saudi funding.
PGA Tour takes a shot at new format
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3) Last-place Royals notch historic 9th straight win
The Kansas City Royals (59-74) earned their MLB-best 9th consecutive victory last night, matching the franchise’s longest winning streak since July 2017.
- The Royals, who still rank last in the AL Central, are the first AL team since 1910 to win 9 straight with a record 24+ games under .500 at the start.
- KC has scored 6+ runs/game over their current streak as baseball’s hottest team, with Royals pitchers also posting a stellar 2.55 ERA.
4) SEC bans NFL, NBA, WNBA players from returning
The SEC unanimously passed a new rule yesterday barring athletes from returning to conference schools after entering the NFL, NBA, or WNBA, or face unspecified penalties.
- The move comes amid eligibility fights involving TE Dae’Quan Wright, who was waived by the Cleveland Browns and aimed to join LSU, and basketball star RJ Luis Jr., who received court approval to join LSU despite signing multiple NBA contracts.
- The Big Ten adopted a similar policy yesterday, while the ACC and Big 12 are weighing rules of their own.
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